Human resource management practice I also available by michael armstrong

Approaches to job design

Job design starts with an analysis of task require-

ments, using the job analysis techniques described 

in Chapter 51. These requirements will be a function 

of the system of work and the organization struc-

ture. As described by Robertson and Smith (1985), 

the method can be based on the job characteristics 

model as follows:

 

●

Influence skill variety by providing 

opportunities for people to do several  

tasks and by combining tasks.

 

●

Influence task identity by combining tasks  

to form natural work units.

 

●

Influence task significance by forming 

natural work units and informing people  

of the importance of their work.

 

●

Influence autonomy by giving people 

responsibility for determining their own 

working systems.

 

●

Influence feedback by establishing good 

relationships and opening feedback  

channels.

These methods influence the four approaches to job 

design described below.

Job rotation

This is the movement of employees from one task to 

another to reduce monotony by increasing variety.

Job enlargement

This means combining previously fragmented tasks 

into one job, again to increase the variety and mean-

ing of repetitive work.

Job enrichment

This  goes  beyond  job  enlargement  to  add  greater 

autonomy and responsibility to a job. Job enrichment 

aims to maximize the interest and challenge of work 

by providing the employee with a job that has these 

characteristics:

 

●

it is a complete piece of work in the sense 

that the worker can identify a series of tasks 

or activities that end in a recognizable and 

definable product;

 

●

it affords the employee as much variety, 

decision-making responsibility and control  

as possible in carrying out the work;

 

●

it provides direct feedback through the work 

itself on how well the employee is doing his 

or her job.

As described by Herzberg (1968), job enrichment is 

not just increasing the number or variety of tasks, 

nor is it the provision of opportunities for job rota-

tion.  These  approaches  may  relieve  boredom,  but 

they do not result in positive increases in motivation.

Self-managing teams (autonomous 

work groups)

These are self-regulating teams who work largely with-

out direct supervision. The philosophy on which this 

approach is founded is that of job enrichment but it 

is also influenced by socio-technical systems theory, 

which suggests that because the technical aspects of 

work  are  interrelated  with  the  social  aspects  both 

should be considered when designing jobs.

A  self-managing  team  enlarges  individual  jobs 

to include a wider range of operative skills (multi-

skilling);  decides  on  methods  of  work  and  the 

planning, scheduling and control of work; distrib-

utes tasks itself among its members; and monitors 

its own performance, taking corrective action when 

required.

The advocates of self-managing teams or auton-

omous work groups claim that they represent a more 

comprehensive view of organizations than the rather 

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